Nine Changes

悲哉，秋之为气也！萧瑟兮草木摇落而变衰。

How sorrowful is the air of autumn! The wind blows bleak and chill, and the grass and trees shed their leaves and fall into decay.

憭栗兮若在远行，登山临水兮送将归。

A chill sorrow fills me, as if I were a traveller far from home, climbing the hills and standing by the river to see off one who is going back.

泬漻兮天高而气清，寂寥兮收潦而水清。

The sky is vast and empty, high and clear; all is silent and still as the rains withdraw and the rivers run clear.

憯悽增欷兮，薄寒之中人，怆怳懭悢兮，去故而就新。

Grief and chill sorrow bring sigh upon sigh as a faint cold pierces the flesh; dejected, bereft and thwarted, I leave what is old and familiar for what is strange and new.

坎廪兮贫士失职而志不平，廓落兮羁旅而无友生，惆怅兮而私自怜！

Thwarted and downcast: a poor scholar stripped of his office, his heart seething with injustice; empty and alone: a wanderer lodging abroad without a friend; dejected and grieving, I can only pity myself in secret!

燕翩翩其辞归兮，蝉寂漠而无声。

The swallows flutter off, taking their leave for home, and the cicadas fold their wings in silence and make no sound.

雁廱廱而南游兮，鹍鸡啁哳而悲鸣。

The wild geese call in chorus as they fly south, and the kun fowl utter their thin, shrill cries of grief.

独申旦而不寐兮，哀蟋蟀之宵征。

Alone I lie sleepless until daybreak, and pity the crickets that travel through the night.

时亹亹而过中兮，蹇淹留而无成。

Time presses steadily on and is already more than half spent, yet I linger long in the marshes with nothing achieved.

悲忧穷戚兮独处廓，有美一人兮心不绎。

Grieving, anxious, poor and hard-pressed, I dwell alone in an empty waste; there is one fair lord in my heart, and my longing for him will not unravel.

去乡离家兮来远客，超逍遥兮今焉薄！

I have left my village and my home to come as a stranger to a far land; drifting without anything to lean on, where can I halt now!

专思君兮不可化，君不知兮可奈何！

My whole heart is set on my lord and that cannot be changed; yet my lord does not know it, and what can I do!

蓄怨兮积思，心烦憺兮忘食事。

Resentment is stored up and longing piles high; my heart is troubled and anxious, and I forget both food and duty.

原一见兮道余意，君之心兮与余异。

I wish to see my lord once and tell him my thoughts, but my lord's heart differs from mine.

车既驾兮朅而归，不得见兮心伤悲。

The carriage is harnessed and I am leaving to go home; unable to see my lord, my heart aches with grief.

倚结軨兮长太息，涕潺湲兮下霑轼。

Leaning on the carriage rail I heave a long sigh, and my tears stream down and soak the front bar.

忼慨绝兮不得，中瞀乱兮迷惑。

My ardent resolve is cut off and cannot be fulfilled; my mind is dazed and lost in confusion.

私自怜兮何极？

I pity myself in secret; when will it ever end?

心怦怦兮谅直。

My heart beats anxiously, yet holds fast to honesty and uprightness.